Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is quietly optimistic for 2021, claiming “everything has been done to eliminate our weak spots”.
Last year, the Milton Keynes-based squad finished a massive 254 points behind Mercedes as the German manufacturer enjoyed one of the most dominant seasons yet in the hybrid era.
In the second half of 2020, however, Red Bull did close the performance gap, with Max Verstappen becoming the first non-Mercedes driver to win in Abu Dhabi since 2013 in the finale.
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But while Marko admits that victory at Yas Marina holds little significance, the Austrian is still upbeat about the team’s potential heading into this year.
“We are not so naive that we believe Abu Dhabi will determine the positions for 2021,” Marko was quoted as telling Germany’s RTL. “[But] we want to be a serious challenger to Mercedes and the first signs are good.
“We are getting positive data from Honda showing improved performance. Our chassis has also been further developed this winter.
“We also now have a driver who will be close to Max, so we are no longer a one-man team,” added Marko referring to the arrival of Sergio Perez. “Everything has been done to eliminate our weak spots.”
One of the biggest deficits Red Bull had was in the engine department, this after Mercedes made surprisingly big gains in contrast to Honda.
And though this will be the Japanese manufacturer’s final year in F1, with Red Bull take over production from 2022, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly expects a strong improvement.
“I think they have good plans,” the Frenchman said via Crash.net.
“I know a few things which sound good, but I don’t want to speak for them. I’m waiting to see on the lap time and on the track, what it does before [getting] too excited.
“I know how much Honda is working and I’m confident it’s not because they are leaving at the end of 2021 they will give up before. That’s not part of their mentality.
“They’ll push and give everything until the last race, I think they are consistently trying to improve the package.
“Obviously if we have more for next year, that would be even better.”